All Over Albany

The recent evolution of Troy, as charted by the New York Times

Like some sort of multi-year tidal cycle on the Hudson River, the attention of the New York Times briefly shifts upriver to focus on the state of the city of Troy in 6-8 year intervals. And if you'll consult your almanac, you'll see that the next scheduled appearance of this phenomenon is set for this weekend.

Oh, look, it's here now. (Must be climate change.) Posted online today for this weekend's paper: "A Town on New York's Hudson River Reinvents Itself."

Let us now chart the some of the changes over each recent interval...

August 28, 2000: Nearly Broke in '95, A City Turns Around; Troy's Fortunes Rebound Sharply, Thanks in Part to New York City's

Just five years ago, this small city on the Hudson River was broke.

It had racked up millions of dollars of debts, but had scarcely enough money in the bank to cover a week's bills. It could put only two police cars out on the streets to patrol a city of 51,000 people. And city officials were scrambling to sell anything they could lay their hands on, up to and including City Hall, which at one point bore a sign reading "For Sale by Owner."

But times have changed for the better in Troy.

The city's budget was balanced last year, for the fourth year in a row. There is finally enough money for improvements, such as new police stations and fire trucks. The city's extraordinary downtown - it looks like New York City might have in the 1870s - has been repaved and replanted. New businesses, once scared off by the threat of municipal bankruptcy, have started moving in.

And perhaps most important to the people of Troy, their city is no longer a national laughingstock, as it was in the mid-1990s.

April 7, 2006: Where the Finest Antiques Can't Be Bought

IT'S easy to understand why people drive past Troy without thinking to stop. From the Interstate they see broken-down factories, ugly brick housing projects from the 1950's and, most egregiously, a concrete garage that hugs the Hudson River where there ought to be a park.

Whizzing by, you can't tell that Troy has a downtown -- much less one of the most perfectly preserved 19th-century downtowns in the United States. Has there ever been a case of less effective civic advertising?

Drive into the city, and you'll find block after block of town houses, churches and commercial buildings that look almost exactly as they did 100 years ago. A 1,200-seat concert hall has stunning frescoes and astonishing acoustics. A row of antiques stores inhabits buildings at least as precious as the merchandise inside. And a remarkable Tiffany window forms the backdrop for the circulation desk at the beaux-arts public library; Troy, with only 48,000 people, has more than a dozen Tiffany windows. ...

The pleasure of Troy isn't discovering a single old building, but finding yourself lost among dozens of them. You may feel as if it were 1880, and you were strolling home to Washington Park, perhaps just for a change of collar.

March 26, 2015: "A Town on New York's Hudson River Reinvents Itself."

Curled along the Hudson River 150 miles north of Manhattan, Troy made shirt collars that could be detached and washed, back when such fashions were in vogue in the 19th century. When that look faded, Collar City hit a rough patch. But new stylish restaurants, quirky boutiques and a craft brewery in a downtown rich with Victorian architecture are helping Troy, population 50,000, become the latest Hudson Valley address to mount a comeback.

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By the way, there was also a recent NYT article about EMPAC.

(Thanks, Duncan.)

Earlier on AOA: A check list for Upstate Place/Rust Belt City is the new Brooklyn articles